Merlin's Pain, Anhora's Game
by Pendragon.P a s s i o n
Summary: ON HOLD! SO SORRY! Arcing gracefully as he fell and hit the ground with a soft thud. Arthur rushed to his side and pulled him close. Merlin lay in his arms, convulsing violently. 1.11 alt. RRR relax.read.review
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is my first Merlin fic...I totally LOV Merlin, its totally my fav show...I live in Australia and only have Austar so I didn't get to watch the first series until it came out on DVD..I borrowed it from my friend...so..yh...I just finished watching Lancelot and Guinevere on youtube..OMG!! Sooo sweet!! Arthur..sweet as...and at the end he's so....sad...  
Lov it!! by far the bestest ep yet!!..**

**nywazZ..so this is set in Labyrinth of Gedref..basically if Merlin drank the poison and it actually was poison...soo..yh..**

**Disclaimer:** This is the indeed the first of many times to come when it will pain me beyond all measure to admit I own shit all...

**ENJOY!!..**

* * *

**Merlin's Pain, Anhora's Game**

**Chapter One**

"I've got it!" Merlin exclaimed suddenly.

Arthur looked up at him, _Merlin? An idea? No way._

Merlin continued. "We pour all the contents of one goblet into the other. That way we know it's poisoned and I'm only drinking from the one cup!"

Arthur shook his head in disbelief. "You never cease to surprise me Merlin. But if you think you're going to drink it...think again." He reached out to pick up Merlin's cup but the young warlock reached it first and held it out of Arthur's reach.

"No way," he said defiantly. "You are too valuable to Camelot. I'm drinking it."

Arthur scoffed. "Don't be stupid you idiot."

"My life isn't near the importance of yours, Arthur."

"I'm drinking it."

"Your life is worth a thousand of mine. I will drink it."

Arthur shook his head slowly. "No."

The two young men sat at either side of the table, staring each other down, both determined to die for the other. Suddenly Merlin lashed out and grabbed Arthur's cup, Arthur, caught completely off guard and not expecting his manservant to be able to move that fast, could not do a thing to stop him.

Merlin hurriedly poured all of one cup into the other.

"Merlin, no!"

Arthur watched as Merlin toasted him and said, "I'm happy to be your servant sire, until the day I die."

And with that he downed it in one.

"Merlin," he whispered.

Arthur watched as Merlin's body dropped to the ground slowly. Arcing gracefully as he fell and hit the ground with a soft thud.

Arthur rushed to his side and pulled him close. Merlin lay in his arms, convulsing violently.

"No please," Arthur looked at Anhora and begged. "Please! He's just, a stupid servant! He doesn't know what he's doing, he doesn't know...d-doesn't know..."

"He was willing to sacrifice his life for yours. Because of this you still have hope to save Camelot from the curse. Merlin giving his life for yours means the tasks have been reset. You now have another three tasks to prove yourself."

Arthur glanced down at Merlin, watching as the poison coursed through his body. When he looked back up Anhora was gone, disappeared.

The young prince sprung into action immediately. Quickly, but gently, he picked up Merlin and ran. He ran as fast as he could, re-entering the labyrinth and trying greatly to find the way out. As light as Merlin was he gradually became heavier and heavier in his master's arms and him still convulsing was not helping. Arthur just hoped they could get home in time.

______________________________

Uther was becoming annoyed. Arthur was neglecting his duties and no-one had laid eyes on him since late yesterday.

"Come in," he said, as there was a knock. The heavy wooden doors opened to reveal the court physician. "Ah, Gaius."

"Sire?"

"Tell me Gaius, have you seen Arthur?"

"Not since yesterday sire."

The King nodded thoughtfully, "Me too, what about that servant of his?"

"No sire, I haven't seen Merlin either."

"Well where on earth are they?"

______________________________

Arthur was becoming desperate. Tears of frustration, the tears he was trying so hard to hold onto, slowly cascaded down his perfectly chiselled features. But he couldn't give up, there was no way he would let Merlin go. He wouldn't let Merlin die. The young servant had been relatively quiet the whole time. Occasionally he would moan as the poison tracked its way through his pale form.

And Arthur was losing hope. He'd been trying to find the exit for what seemed like hours.

"Merlin," he whispered. "Help," knowing full well that his friend was almost totally out of it and completely unable to help. "You idiot help. I can't do this on my own...I can't."

Slowly Arthur fell to his knees, exhausted, and lay Merlin in front of him. His friend _still_ convulsing. Arthur could tell he was in pain, his face was tightly scrunched, he was breathing heavily and uneven and if that was not enough to know the small gasps and groans that passed through his lips gave it away instantly. Physically, on the outside, Merlin had not a thing wrong but Arthur knew internally he was in extreme pain.

Arthur sat, watching Merlin and cursing Anhora a thousand times over for putting his servant through this. Merlin didn't deserve this, he was the most kind man Arthur had ever met, no matter what Arthur did Merlin was constantly loyal. But this time Arthur pushed to far, this time he had put the lives of Camelot in danger, the life of Merlin.

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**so that wazZ it!! plzZ plzZ plzZ REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**I live off my reviews so PLEASE REVIEW!! tell me wt u think, wt u think should happen nd all that kinda jazZ...**

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	2. Chapter 2

**well...thnku so much everyone for my reviews!!! lov them nd I hop ur happy with this chapter cozZ I wazZ meant to be doing my massive Literature assignment which is due in two days...its about 19 pages long so far nd its nowhere near finished!!!!!!!!! but I thought I deserved som time off for a bit..nywazZ..also..for those of u hu read 'Like the Soil Yearns for the Rain' um..Im sorry if I got u worried yesterday wen I updated cozZ the status said complete but that was a mistake..it was originally a oneshot so wen I put a 2nd chappie up yesterday I forgot to change it to in-progess...so I full-on apologise for that coz I know if I was reading a fic that ended with Arthur coming in all unconscious nd what not then it said complete..Id be skizting so SERIOUSLY SORRY!!...also sooo sorry this took sooo long to update but Ive been studying nd doing assignments.....nywazZ..**

**ENJOY!!..**

**Chapter Two**

Arthur looked up suddenly. He was sure he had seen something out of the corner of his eye. A light. But when he looked up there was nothing there. It was his mind, he managed to convince himself. Until he saw it again.

The young prince snapped his head up and there it was. That light, that orb. The very same blue orb that led him out of the caves when he was saving Merlin's life, and now here it was again. Helping him save his servant again. Arthur had no doubt in his mind the orb would lead him out of here.

Arthur took a deep breath and regained his composure, wiping the tears from his face where they so desperately clung. He hoisted his manservant up once again and followed the light.

Arthur, being so caught up in actually getting out of the Labyrinth didn't realise Merlin's hand lolling about beside him. He didn't notice a smaller version of the same orb in his friend's palm.

* * *

Uther sent out the Knights a good hour ago to scour the land and so far there had been no word form any of them. Uther's gut told him Arthur was alright but at the same time something was wrong. Something was going on that was affecting his son...

The King shook his head to clear the confusing thoughts that circled it. There was work to be done. He needed to find Arthur, he needed to know what on earth was going on.

* * *

Arthur breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he emerged from the claustrophobic confines of the labyrinth. Sometime during the walk-run out Merlin had gone from semiconscious to completely unconscious and was a dead weight in Arthur's arms. But with renewed energy the young prince of Camelot ran to where he had tied his horse, Merlin, the idiot who had supposedly secretly followed him, had tied his horse right next to Arthur's.

Arthur untied his horse and managed to situate Merlin on it before climbing on himself. He was forced to leave Merlin's horse behind, leading another horse would slow them down even more. Knowing how much Merlin cared for his horse, even though it was only a spare horse Merlin had adopted it as his own, Arthur considered taking it but then decided against it. His own horse was one of, if not _the_ best and fastest, Merlin's was somewhat inferior. Anything that reduced the amount of time it would take to reach the castle Arthur eleminated from his already limited options.

It was only now that he could think clearly, slightly, that Arthur noticed the blue orb had disappeared. Must've gone once I left the labyrinth, he thought.

Arthur made sure Merlin was as comfortable as he could be before galloping off. Although the young blonde had calmed down considerably he was still extremely distressed about his manservant._ What if he was too late, what if this time he let Merlin down. _Arthur swallowed deeply as tears, once again, fought to fall down his face. His breathing became shallow again and Arthur forced himself to _calm down!_ Stressing and worrying would not do anything to help.

The young prince of Camelot rode hard and fast until his horse was near exhaustion, but he didn't care. Better the horse than Merlin.

* * *

Arthur's knights had been riding for hours and they had yet to find their prince. They'd searched everywhere in the castle, all surroundng villages, and now they had moved on to the forest. To be totally honest they were all worried. Arthur had never just disappeared like this for so long, especially without telling anyone. It was not like the Prince Arthur they knew.

As they entered the forest one person conveniantly noticed some tracks. Two sets of tracks actually, so they followed these, assuming that they were Arthur's.

Being past midnight and the tracks being at least a day old they were hard to follow but they managed, well enough.

Suddenly they all stopped. They could hear a horse, it sounded like a tired horse, coming almost full pelt at them. Silently they waited and watched for the rider to appear.

Everyone sighed in relief as they saw their prince a top the horse. He looked exhausted and like he had been crying but apart from that he looked relatively well.

* * *

Arthur's heart almost skipped a beat when he saw his knights. He smiled inwardly, too tired to show outward signs of emotion. Merlin was going to be alright. He wouldn't die.

His horse slowed down as they came near the knights.

"Sire!"

It was Sir Leon who called out to him. He nodded his greeting.

"Sire, what happened?" he asked the question everyone was dying to know the answer to.

Arthur frowned slightly, trying to gather his thoughts.

"...to save Camelot...Merlin...idiot followed me...poison...I didn't...couldn't...scared...die..." Arthur swayed slightly in the saddle as he finished his tired explanation.

What Arthur said didn't _really _make sense but the knights got the picture. Arthur had gone...somewhere to try and save Camelot and Merlin, the idiot, had followed him. Something terrible happened to Merlin and now Arthur blamed himself, he was scared that his manservant was going to die for something he could've stopped.

Up until Arthur mentioned him the knights had not even noticed Merlin sitting in front of Arthur on the saddle, they only had eyes for the Prince. But now they saw him and he looked bad. Arthur had one arm wrapped around his body keeping him upright, his head lolling on Arthur's shoulder and foaming from the mouth. Now the horse had stopped they could see he wasn't just being jostled around by the rhythm of the animal but he was convulsing violently. Occasionally a whimper of pain or a pitiful moan would escape the pale lips but those were the only sounds he made.

Sir Leon, who was closest to Arthur, went forward and put an arm out to steady the exhausted prince who was still slightly swaying in the saddle.

"Sire, perhaps if Merlin rode with me it might be easier?" he reached out a hand to take the man from him but Arthur screamed.

"No! Don't...don't touch him, he'll...we have to...I can't..." he pulled Merlin away from Leon's touch.

It broke everyone's heart to see Arthur like this. Their usually so strong and powerful prince...

Arthur took a deep breath. "I have to get...to Gaius..." He surprised himself, let alone the knights, that he managed to put together a coherent sentence.

Leon nodded. "Let's go."

The knights rode in formation around the young prince and his servant, Arthur chose how fast they rode and he was riding as fast as he could. Leon constantly stayed close by just in case Arthur swayed again, just in case he fell.

And as soon as Camelot's walls were in sight, he did.

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**ooohh...Im such a bitch arent I??**

**nywazZ..thnxX again for my lurverly reviews!! Id totally appreciate more!!!!! wont be updating for a week or so..got tests...**

**sorry bout taking so long to update again nd about the confusion on the other fic..  
lov u all!!**

**REVIEW!!**

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	3. Chapter 3

**Soz its taken a while but hey! It could've taken longer!! *Im trying to be optimistic seeing as I lost the one thing with every story/fanfic/random notes in class that I have written in the past 2 months in it…MY WRITING BOOK!!* nywazZ..thnxX so much for reviews!! Id totally appreciate it if u could…u'no…REVIEW!! Maybe reviews will help me remember all my stories then I can update quicker!!!**

**nywazZ..**

**ENJOY!!..**

**Chapter Three**

The assemblage of men entered Camelot at almost full pace. Almost as soon as they arrived Uther came out, assumedly to rouse on his son, but as soon as he saw the unconscious form in the arms of Leon all thoughts of berating were gone and he lead the way to Gaius' chambers.

Gaius was shocked, to say the least, to see a dozen knights on his doorstep, not to mention the King and his cataleptic son. But he was most shocked, and upset, to see Merlin having severe seizures in Sir Kay's strong arms.

He immediately ordered everyone to go away, except for Kay, Leon and of course Uther.

He told Leon to lay Arthur on the table and Kay, lay Merlin on the bed near the fire. With a quick glance at Arthur he knew the Prince could wait. There was no blood, there were no obvious wounds. Arthur's life was not in danger. Even though he didn't even touch the Prince he knew this.

Merlin on the other hand…

Gaius ordered a fresh bucket of water from Kay and told Leon to inform the King to go away and attend to his duties; Arthur would be fine he just needed rest.

While he was waiting for the water Gaius wiped away the saliva from around Merlin's mouth with a rag and then removed his shirt. He was slightly astonished to see Merlin's pale skin could become even paler but he got over that. He lowered his head and listened to Merlin's faltering heartbeat. It was faint and stuttering but it was there.

He was alive, for now.

Now he had to identify the poison, for it was obviously poison that made this happen. In previous situations like this he had been on possession of some of the poison therefore it was quite simple to identify it. This time he had nothing. And judging by Merlin's symptoms it was a nasty poison indeed.

* * *

Arthur woke slowly. Vaguely he became aware of smells, something disgusting, then sounds, someone busying around. Thinking groggily he rolled over to find a more comfortable position but instead found himself falling and smashing against the floor.

That woke him up.

He yelped as he impacted and squeezed his eyes shut in pain.

"Sire?"

He heard Gaius' voice and suddenly he remembered everything. Well, almost…vaguely he remembered being hysterical, babbling and crying. Oh God, did he cry in front of his knights?

Suddenly he leapt up, ignoring the pain in his side.

"Merlin!?" he called frantically.

"Sire!"

But it wasn't Merlin.

"Gaius." Arthur took in the sight before him. Gaius was standing in front of the raging fire, next to the bed. On it lay the body that was Merlin.

"Are you ok, Sire?"

Arthur either ignored the question or didn't hear it. "Is he…?"

"He's alive," Gaius' voice was soft.

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**I ish verwy sorrwy dat it ish shawt buts I felt it wash a good place to ends its.**

**kk..I was just on LOLcats b4 so Im in a very Lc speaking mood..nywazZZ…I am soz it's a bit shorter but it felt lik a decent place to end it aka its 2 in the morning nd I left my window open nd my light on so Im tired nd there r bugs EVERYWHERE attacking me…so Im gonna turn the hall light on, shut my window turn my light off nd go to sleep.**

**Plz plz plz plz plz plz plz PPPPLLLLEEEEEAAAAASSSSSEEEE REVIEW!! Its nowhere near as good as the original was but seeing as I lost my book (F-ING DAMMIT!!) I cant rly remember how it went down the 1st time I wrote it..so Id appreciate to know wt u think!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**.. I have nnnnoooooo idea why it took me an eternity to update but it just did. **

**So I have a problem. I need a few tests for Arthur. so PLEASE, if you have ANY ideas, even if you think they arent good, just review or PM them to me cause otherwise I'm stuffed.**

**ENJOY!!..**

**Chapter Four**

Arthur took a few hesitant steps forward, not taking his eyes off Merlin.

"Sire?"

Something in Arthur seemed to snap suddenly and he turned and exited the chambers in a jog calling out behind him, "Do what you can for him! I'll be back later!"

Arthur sprinted down the stairs and took the most direct route to his father's Council Chambers. He burst open the heavy doors and barely noticed that everyone in the room turned to look at him as they sought out who had interrupted their meeting.

"Arthur?" Uther said, clearly shocked. "What are you doing? How long have you been awake?" His voice was a little disapproving as he had asked Gaius to inform him immediately when his son woke.

Arthur simply ignored the question. "Do we have water? Food?"

Uther rose his brows in slight surprise before answering in a weary tone, "Nothing."

The only sign that Arthur registered the words was a small nod of his head, then he simply left.

"Arthur!" Uther called out after him, but the Prince carried on.

The King was about to go after him when Gaius stood at the doorway.

"Gaius. What's going on? I told you to inform me when Arthur was awake."

"I am terribly sorry sire, but he never gave me the chance."

Uther wore a questioning expression.

"Arthur woke not even five minutes ago. He simply up and left. I followed him straight here."

"He seems...distracted." Uther mused. "Do you know why?"

"No, my lord, but I really do need to find him. I gave him a quick once over when he arrived and found no injuries but because Merlin has been poisoned I thought I had better check Arthur."

Uther nodded and waved a dismissing hand at a pair of guards near the door, "Go find him."

"Of course, sire," they nodded.

Then he turned to everyone else in the room, "Leave us, we shall have a short recess from this meeting. Be back in half an hour." And with that all the nobles, knights and counsellors in the room left, apart from Gaius, of course.

"How is Merlin?" he asked when they were alone.

"Not well, my lord. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do unless I discover what has poisoned him."

"There's nothing you can do?"

"No. He appears to be in a lot of pain and I doubt he will survive much longer. I can't even give him anything to ease his passing," Gaius choked on the word, "for fear of increasing the reaction."

Uther sighed deeply. "I hope you can make him well again."

"Thank you sire."

Uther appeared to be a very hard man, and generally this was true. When it came to the life of a servant he could not really care less but he knew the effect that Merlin had on Arthur. Since being his manservant Arthur's moods and temper had improved dramatically and now Uther had a son he could be proud of and feel at peace knowing the kingdom would be in safe hands when he eventually passed.

Suddenly the heavy doors were burst open once again. This time the two guards accompanied a slightly struggling Arthur.

"Let me go!"

"Arthur!"

He stopped struggling.

"_What_ is going on?"

"I'm going to the forest." Arthur's eyes shined with determination, and stubbornness.

"Why?"

"To find the sorcerer who did this."

"You know where to find him?" Uther was shocked.

"More, I know who he is."

The King gave him a quizzical look.

"His name is Anhora." Arthur didn't expand on who exactly Anhora was, he knew his father would never believe it was Arthur's fault. "I'm going to find him, tell him to lift the curse and save Merlin."

"What happened to Merlin, my lord?" Gaius asked.

Arthur shook his head. "I don't know. I had a test and he was poisoned...argh, it should have been _me_! Not him."

"Arthur. You are not making any sense." Uther demanded.

"Never mind, forget it." He really didn't want to get into it with his father. "Just, I'm going." And he strode out.

Uther made no attempt to stop him, he simply stood, a look of utter confusion on his features.

"Sire?"

Gaius' voice cut through his thoughts.

"I can check him over if you wish but I don't think anyone could stop him from going."

Uther nodded, "He's too stubborn. Tell him to stay safe."

Gaius bowed respectfully to his King and made to follow Arthur.

He found him saddling his horse.

"Arthur?"

The young Pendragon looked up. "You can't stop me Gaius."

"It is not my wish to stop you Arthur. What happened?"

He saw that Arthur was about to deny knowing and cut him off. "I already know all about Anhora and the tests."

"Merlin?"

"Yes. What happened?"

"I told him to stay here," he sighed. "I went to the Labyrinth of Gedref, and found the exit and Merlin was there, sitting at a table, two goblets in the centre of it. Anhora said one was poisoned. We could only drink from one goblet. Merlin figured out that if we poured all of one goblet into the other, then we'd know it was poisoned and _I_ was meant to drink it...but he got there first and...he fell and started convulsing and..." he paused, closing his eyes. "Anhora said that because Merlin was willing to give his life for mine that the tasks would be reset and I still had a chance to save Camelot." He opened his eyes and looked into Gaius's, "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I should have been quicker."

"It is not your fault Arthur, I'm sure you did everything you could...I suppose, you wouldn't know what he was poisoned with?"

"No, sorry."

"When you find Anhora, ask him. I can't do anything for Merlin unless I know. He will die otherwise."

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**I know...only short.**

**PLEASE!!!!! if you have ANY IDEAS FOR TESTS FOR OUR DEAR ARTHUR PLEASE TELL ME!!!!!!!!**

**and if you don't, REVIEW ANYWAY!!!! :D**

**passion.**


	5. Chapter 5 Arthur's First Challenge

**First and foremost thankyou to EVERYONE who reviewed!! :D as always I really do love you all *in a totally-non-sexual-high-5-way (high5)***

**Second. Thankyou to everyone who reviewed and left me ideas for tests, again, if you have any plz review it or PM me!!**

**Third *and last*, this chappie is dedicated to _Anya_ for inspiration of the idea *though I must admit I did alter it a bit, all credit must go to Anya otherwise I wouldnt have thought of it :D***

**Chapter Five – Arthur's First Test**

Arthur rode at ease. He rode with the swiftness that came from years of being in the saddle. Arthur rode with a purpose and in haste. A second wasted would mean a second more that Merlin was in pain. A second wasted could mean Merlin's death.

And Arthur was not going to let Merlin die.

He swore violently at himself for letting this happen; all because he wanted the glory of killing a unicorn, all because he wanted the attention and praise of his father.

He sighed, and now his people were suffering for it. No food. No water. He had potentially destroyed Camelot, all hopes of one day ruling the kingdom, effectively gone. Unless he found Anhora, and _that_ he was determined to do.

He came out of his thoughts when his horse slowed, then stopped. Arthur realised he was further into the forest than he thought and it was now too dense for his horse to pick its way through. He dismounted, tethered it lightly to a nearby tree and patted it affectionately on the neck before going on alone.

Eventually he came to a clearing. "Anhora!" His voice rang through the air hollowly. This was totally pointless. He didn't even know if Anhora was in the forest still, and if he was who was to say he would help or even show himself? But there was no other choice. He needed to save Merlin. "Anhora!" he tried again.

Silence.

But something felt wrong, Arthur felt like there was someone watching him. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, a boy, that looked no older than fourteen, stepped out from the trees.

He stared at Arthur for a second, before seeming to make up his mind and run. Arthur sprinted after him and didn't take long to catch him. He grabbed his arm and the boy yelped, then fell to the ground sobbing.

"Please, d-don't. I don't me-ean any h-h-harm...I swear, please," he hiccupped.

Arthur let the boy's arm go and he cradled it tenderly.

"What's your name?" he asked gently, coming to the conclusion that the boy meant no harm. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said after the boy made no response.

"You alr-ready did," the boy cried.

Arthur apologised, "I didn't know your arm was hurt, I'm sorry." He held out a welcoming hand. "Can I look at your it?"

The boy looked at him suspiciously then seemed to conclude that Arthur really was sorry and held out his arm.

There was a large cut running down from his elbow, almost to his wrist and it was bleeding profusely. Arthur took a knife from his belt and the boy flinched.

"Whoa, calm down."

After calming the boy he cut a length of fabric from his undershirt and wrapped it firmly around the boy's arm. "There, that should help."

"Thank you," came the quiet reply.

"What's your name?" Arthur asked again.

"...My name is Hawk."

"I'm Arthur," he greeted enthusiastically. "Now, what were you doing? And how did you hurt your arm?"

"I was...um...taking a walk?" he suggested, with some false hope.

Arthur looked Hawk up and down. He noticed his clothes were dirty, but not as much as a peasant's. Then he noticed stripe of dirty yellow cloth around the boy's shin.

Cloth around the shin meant outlaws, he knew. But yellow...yellow was something so much worse than common outlaws and gangs. Yellow was organised crime and conspiracies and assassinations. Yellow was Olaf's people. Olaf was one of the main men who was hell-bent on killing Uther and destroying Camelot, not particularly because of Uther's views on magic, like most people, but because they believed the world would generally be a better place without him. For a reason as pathetic as that they stole, raped and murdered. They were nutters.

"You work for Olaf," Arthur accused, jabbing a finger at the boy.

The boy's hopeful expression was instantly dashed and he became scared.

"No, please! Let me explain! I was running away, I tried to escape. I never wanted to be like them!"

Arthur peered at him, "What happened then...and I'll have the truth this time, thanks."

Hawk took a deep breath. "They came to my village a couple of months ago. They killed anyone who refused to obey, and took the rest as prisoners. I was hiding in a barn on the other side of out village. My friend, Lilly, she knew where I was and tried to hide with me but she led them straight to us. They didn't see me and I had nowhere to go so I watched. Th-they...attacked her and I was too scared, too much of a coward," a single tear raced down his cheek. "I didn't even try to help her...I just...watched..." He drew breath to continue but Arthur held up a hand to stop him. It was obvious what he had witnessed and he took pity on the boy.

"Just tell me," he said, "why are you part of his gang?"

Hawk wiped the tear from his face and his eyes hardened. "I was going to kill them. I went to Olaf, saying how it was my dream to rid the world of King Uther and that I wanted to join them. Then I waited out my time until I was trusted enough and until I found the men who...There were three of them and they all...you know, before they killed her." Suddenly he lashed out and kicked at the ground. "I didn't even stop them when they killed her!" He fell to his knees, "Then I saw them, two brothers and their friend. Jason, Dan and Henry. So last night I waited until just after midnight and I went into Henry's tent and...I killed him. Simple and silent. Just how I had planned for so long. But it didn't make me feel any better, almost worse. I was completely horrified. I had become just as bad as them. I killed a living, breathing human being.

"But there was something that made me think, 'I started this so now I have to finish it'. So I went to Jason's tent but he must have heard me, or have some sixth sense because as soon as I was close enough to kill him he rolled over and grabbed me. He yelled and the whole camp woke up...Long story short: I managed to escape. I've been wandering the forest for a few days now."

"And this is the truth?" Though small, Arthur still had his doubts.

"Yes."

Arthur breathed deeply, trying to clear his head. He could not leave Hawk alone in the forest, he would have to make sure he was safe. At the same time, though, there was no way he was putting Merlin's needs on hold.

"You up for a walk, Hawk?"

The boy eyed him quizzically. "I guess...?"

"Good." Arthur clapped his hands together smoothly, problem solved, he thought. "I'll explain on the way."

Arthur began walking straight ahead then turned, "Well come on then."

* * *

Gwen dipped the rag in a bucket of cold water and placed it on Merlin's forehead, again. Gaius was attemoting to massage out his tensed limbs, knowing that when he woke up they would hurt like hell if he kept them tense all the time. But it did not seem to be working. It went straight through Gwen's heart every time he whimpered. The sound was so heart wrenching and deep, she began to wonder if there was something more than the poison in his body. Maybe it was affecting his mind? She supposed they would know if..._when _Arthur got back.

"Gwen," the Physician's voice interrupted her thoughts. "I don't suppose you could go find some more water from...somewhere? I need to make Merlin something to ease the tension in his muscles and I would rather use fresh water. In the state he is in, it's not safe to give him anything else."

"Of course." She gave Merlin another glance, then left with a bucket.

When she was out in the courtyard she sensed something was...different. There was a different mood in the air. She noticed people talking excitedly between themselves, others simply were...happy. But the thing she noticed most was that everyone was in possession of a water-filled bucket.

She raced to the nearest pump, placed her bucket underneath, pumped and smiled. The sound of water rushing down filled her ears and the sight of clean, sparkling water filled her eyes. And thoughts of pride filled her head.

Arthur must have done something right.

* * *

**so, as last time, so soz for the long update but this one is longer than the last. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!! and again, any ideas for Arthur TELL ME!!!! :D**

**luv u all**

**passion.**


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